Orange & chili pepper ricotta cheese cake

Adding little heat to cheese isn't a new idea; we have been enjoying gourmet cheese with spices and/or a variety of Indian cuisines that incorporate cheese and pepper beautifully . For this cake, the fresh taste from ricotta just coos to every tastebud but is so delicate at the same time, almost like a little shy girl unwillingly stands in the spotlight, so we need some fruity note and heat to give it a kick. Don't worry about the heat; it will be all gone before you close your mouth, what only left is that refreshing orange-y and velvety milk-y taste.

Most cheese cakes baked in the pan with a removable bottom in order to release cakes easily, the size of the pan usually comes in 9 or 10 inches in diameter. But I want a much smaller cake, so I used a 7-inch pan which is actually a take-out foil container. Just tear the foil I can release my cake.

Recipe (yield: 7-inch diameter cake)

*adapted from Italian magazine casamia cucina*

• For the crust, I use this dough, but you can use store-bought puff pastry
• 160g fresh ricotta, drained well
• 2 extra-large eggs
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 navel orange, organic preferable, thinly slice
• some candied orange peel, some diced for into the cake, some stripes for garnish
• 1 Tbp red pepper flakes, mixed with a few drops of balsamic vinegar
• some marmalade, slightly heat up (easier to spread)

Direction:

• Pre-heat oven 375F
• Line the pastry dough in pan, cover, keep in the fridge while you preparing the filling
• Push the ricotta through a fine sieve twice. Stir in sugar, two eggs and diced orange peels. Pour the mixture into the dough, arrange some fresh orange slices and red pepper on top.
• Bake in 375F oven for 10 minutes, then lower to 350F until the top feel slightly firm, about another 15 minutes. Take the cake on a rack.
• When the cake is warm to touch, tear off the foil (if you use disposable foil container), brush marmalade and arrange more orange peels on top.

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